Trompe l'oeil
by Fueled By Dr. Pepper
Summary: Kurtofsky week day 2 - Fairy Tales. Prince Kurt must escape a doomed fate in the woods of another kingdom. AU. 1864 words.


In the kingdom of the rolling plains, the castle of Kinsley stood tall on the cliff near the sea. Once home to the fiercest family of warriors, disease left it close to barren. The king Bertrand, the most loved of the royals, had been the last to die after having fought the illness for a full year. Left behind to mourn were his second wife, Susan, and last living heir, Kurt.

Susan lived as Queen over the kingdom, made of closely knit farms on the lands surrounding the castle's keep. She was cold and distant, unforgiving and all around completely opposite to the former ruler.

The newest appointments to the court of the queen got wind of unsettled contempt among the peasants. They bid her to do something to gain favor from them before a revolution broke out. It was suggested she marry again and stepped down in authority. Susan reviled the idea of letting someone else reign over her land; she sought out a solution that would let her do her bidding.

Her thoughts led her to the prince. Kurt was nearly of age, kind and well liked by everyone who knew him. His face was fair and shapely, taking good traits from his father and the first queen who died even before the plague hit Kinsley. He was the perfect representation of the golden age of the kingdom before it was torn apart by sickness.

Susan called the second in her command, "I have decided to marry – I will wed the prince just before the sowing of the fields."

The duke William held back his reaction, "But, for the queen to marry the prince . . . "

Susan turned on her heel, "It would only be right that he should inherit the throne."

"But with a marriage to a princess or prince. Not his own queen."

Susan's eyes narrowed, "He is not born of me. I have no children."

William nodded and, after getting detailed instructions, left to start the preparations.

He arrived just before the evening meal to Kurt's chambers, needing his input, "Kurt, it has been decided that the queen should marry."

Kurt smiled, "Yes, the kingdom could do with some new royalty. Who is so lucky to become the next monarch?"

William smiled softly, "You are. The queen wishes to marry you, just before the spring celebration of the field sowing."

Kurt's face fell.

"She raised me with my father, she cannot marry me."

William sighed, "I stated as much. She is determined that since she did not birth you, it is still right."

Kurt frowned.

"Then what more can I do?"

An idea struck William.

"What are your desires for your tocher?"

Kurt frowned further, brow scrunching in confusion, "What tocher?"

William smirked, "It's still customary for the ruling party to give at least a few tokens to the intended betrothed."

Kurt caught onto his plan, smiling.

"I have only a few requests then – a dressing as dark as the winter night sky, one as golden as the morning sun, and another as glittering as the brightest stars. Also, a quilt of pelts made with the fur of each kind of animal the woods at the edge of the kingdom is home to. Lastly, I require an enchanted box with a golden ring, golden hook, and golden thimble presented to me. The wedding cannot take place until all these needs are met."

William bowed, "I shall let your queen know as soon as possible."

When asked how the preparations for the union were going, William answered honestly, listing Kurt's impossible demands without concern. Susan nodded and walked away without a word. Thinking they had outsmarted her, William went on with the other duties without distress. At the evening meal, Susan arrived late, delaying the start of the feast.

"I apologize for my tardiness," she spoke as she sat at the head of the banquet table, "I was merely caught up in arrangements for the wedding."

Kurt smiled from his seat at her left, "And how are they going? You did receive word of my requests?"

Susan nodded, "I did and they have gone swimmingly. I have all the hunters of the kingdom gathering pelts and the royal seamstresses at work on your desired dressings. They, along with your magical box of treasures should all be ready within the month before the sowing."

The table gave a hearty cheer to the news, though Kurt and William shared an uneasy look before pasting on smiles.

True to her word, the night before the sowing of the fields, the gifts were delivered to his chambers, one by one. William arrived with the pelt coat. He gave a solemn nod before leaving Kurt. Kurt did not smile as he left, leaping into action once the door closed. He folded the dressings neatly, fitting them into the box with the golden trinkets and tucked it into his shirt before donning the fur cloak and exiting the castle.

Under the cover of night and his pelts, he ran into the wood, not stopping until he was in the wood of the nearest kingdom – barely beating the sunrise. He took to the shade of a tree, covering himself with the coat while he rested among the roots.

The kingdom of the forest – the only clearing being around the castle Thorntyne – had led a company out for a royal hunt very close to where Kurt lay sleeping.

The dogs sniffed at the mound of furs, barking in confusion at the mixed scents. The knights in attendance let the king David know of the unusual sight.

"Then prod it, figure out what kind of animal it is."

Kurt was jostled awake by the poke of sticks at his covered form. Panicking, thinking it might be a search party sent by the queen, Kurt clawed at the ground and rubbed dirt in his face and mussed his hair.

"I am a wanderer. Nothing more," he called with a disguised voice.

To continue the hunt, David ordered he be taken back to the castle. When the party arrived back with the fruits of their labor, Kurt was brought out for judgment.

"What rough skin for someone so well attended to, otherwise," David mused.

"What is your name?"

Kurt couldn't think of anything else to say, "I am but a nameless wanderer, nothing more."

David did not press further, "Well, Roughskin, we here have more courtesy than to let a fellow man starve in our wood. You shall earn your keep in the labors of the castle. The other servants will show you to your quarters."

Dismissed, Kurt sighed a breath of relief as he was taken in. Roughskin was a name that stuck to Kurt, more affectionately mentioned than most would assume. It didn't bother Kurt and he made no efforts to change it.

Closer to the height of the summer season, the castle planned a ball to honor the solstice. Many of the servants mused during work that the unmarried king might be looking for a spouse among the guests. Kurt listened without adding, thinking to the dressing hidden in the box that was his only possession.

For the first night of the ball, Kurt offered to make the main course of the meal, a stew that was highlight of banquets in his homeland.

Once it was prepared, he snuck out the box, taking out the first dressing. He dressed in the outfit that was as dark as the night sky of a winter evening. He used a spare bucket of water to clean his face and hair.

He snuck around, past the new gardens, to the front of the castle, blending with the guests. He dance and dined, catching the attention of the King. But once the stew was tasted, the king called for the person who made it. He snuck away before they could realize Roughskin wasn't around to take credit. Kurt ran back the way he came in, rubbing the garden's soil on to make his skin rough again, as he entered the servant's chambers. He was brought before the king shortly.

"You made this delicious dish, Roughskin?"

Kurt nodded as he bowed.

"And what of this in my bowl?"

David held up the tiny golden thimble from Kurt's treasure box. Kurt could not understand how it made it into his stew. He denied any knowledge of the item and was dismissed.

The second night, Kurt again made stew for the feast. After, he dressed in the outfit that was golden like the sun shining from the heavens just hours before. He again snuck into the party and was recognized only as the man with the dark dressings from the night before. He danced with many, including the intrigued king. He stayed long enough at his side to eat the stew from the seat on his left.

"Is this the meal that Roughskin has made?"

A voice answered, "I do think so, sire."

"Bring him out here again."

And in the blink of an eye, Kurt again rushed to be waiting in his quarters to be brought before the king.

"You made this stew also, Roughskin?"

Kurt nodded, still flushed from his efforts.

"And what of this time's discovery?"

The small golden hook dangled from the king's finger.

Kurt made no explanations, as he had none. His dismissal followed.

For the third and final night of the celebration, the actual solstice, Kurt had little time. He still prepared the stew and dressed in his final dressing more quickly than he ever had. Glittering like the very summer night sky above, he was the center of attention the whole night. He ate again with the king. The king pulled him back onto the floor, for more dancing after the meal. Full of wine, mead, and merriment, no one noticed as David slipped the golden ring from his bowl of stew made it onto Kurt's finger. When the celebration drew to a close, he again called for Roughskin.

Kurt made his way back to his chambers, again in the guise of Roughskin, save for the ring on his finger.

When he was brought before David, the king only asked to see his hand, no mention of the stew. Kurt raised it, the ring glistening next to his dirtied skin.

David spoke out loud, "Tonight, in my bowl of your stew, I discovered that ring. I slipped it onto the hand of the handsome man that has made a spectacle at each night of this celebration. How is it that the same ring is on your hand, Roughskin?"

Kurt spoke, explaining his story fully. He apologized for the deception, only fueled by the worry that he would be sent back to the marriage he avoided in his kingdom.

"You have earned your keep and more as a servant, you have caught the attention of the kingdom with your dressings and stew, and with these tokens and this honesty you have earned favor with your king. Would you accept also the offer to join me as king to my king, love to my life?"

Kurt accepted and they were wed on the day of the autumn harvest.


End file.
